One of my favorite things about the end of the year is all the “best of” lists. Especially the best books. Of course.
As I do every year, here I’m presenting my top 20 books of 2015. I divide my reading into four categories: Fiction, General Non-Fiction, Devotional, and Writing How-To. Below are my top five in each category for this year. But, first, my general stats:
Total books read: 100
Fiction to non-fiction ratio: 58:42
Male to female author ratio: 54:46
Top 5 genres: Classic Fiction (with 18 books), Historical Fiction (with 16), Business (with 15), Writing How-To (with 13), and Fantasy (with 9).
Number of books per rating: 5 stars (8), 4 stars (36), 3 stars (39), 2 stars (14), 1 star (3).
(Note: All Amazon links are affiliate links.)
Top Fiction Books
1. London by Edward Rutherford
2. The Breath of Dawn by Kristen Heitzmann
3. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
4. Marvel 1602 by Neil Gaiman
5. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diane Wynne Jones
Top General Non-Fiction Books
1. Creativity, Inc. by Ed Catmull and Amy Wallace
2. The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss
3. The Magic of Thinking Big by David J. Schwartz
4. The Resurrection of the Romanovs by Greg King and Penny Wilson
5. This Fabulous Century 1930-1940 by Time Life
Top Devotional Books
1. The End of Our Exploring by Matthew Lee Anderson
2. In the Dailies by Tanya Dennis
3. The Heresy of Orthodoxy by Andreas J. Kostenberger and Michael J. Kruger
4. The Kid Inside Bible Stories by Steve Mathisen
5. If You Only Knew by O. Sonny Acho
Top Writing Books
1. Reader Magnets by Nick Stephenson
2. Public Speaking for Authors, Creatives, and Other Introverts by Joanna Penn
3. How to Write a Script With Dialogue That Doesn’t Suck by Michael Rogan
4. Your Idea Machine by William C. Martell
5. Shoot Your Novel by C.S. Lakin
My Books
And don’t forget if you’re looking for a new read this year, I’ve got a couple that just might tweak your fancy. (*wink, wink*)
Also don’t forget: this is the last day to grab my new historical novel Storming for just $.99 on Kindle! Click here to grab the book while its on discount.
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You guys are stirring me up to make a new years resolution. 100 bks is downright impressive. I’m willing to accept the mission. It could be called the 100 bk challenge. Would there be a certain prize involved if we read 100 bks? (hint hint) including all of KM’s bks? Sounds enticing huh?
Hah! If you do it, I’ll send you a free book of your choice. 😉
Mission accepted. You’re on sister. 100 books here we come!
Bring it! And anyone else who’d like to take on the challenge is welcome too!
How do you do it. 100-150 books, and all the writing you do. Do you read and write at the same time :-).
Well, not at *exactly* the same time. 😉 I schedule my reading as consistently as I do my writing: an hour and a half every night.
How long does it usually take you to read a book? What did you learn from The 4 hour Work Week and The Magic of Thinking Big?
Depends on the book, of course, but it generally takes me about a week.
I disagree with Ferriss about a lot of stuff, but 4 Hour Workweek was incredibly inspiring in distilling motivations and creating actionable goals.
The Magic of Thinking Big was more just good reminders of how to create good attitudes and big goals.
This is a fun prompt. It’s motivating me to read more. Anyone else want to participate in the very first 100 bk challenge? This is a historical moment you know. I already have about 75 bks on the radar, and probably will read all of KM’s bks. So the winner probably could have your next bk for free right? Maybe a Dreamlander sequel perhaps? he he.
Yep, any published you want. The Dreamlander sequel won’t be out for a few more years though.
I like the helpful info you provide in your posts. I will bookmark your page and check again here often. I’m quite sure I’ll learn many new stuff right here! Good luck for the next!